Finally got my navel pierced yesterday.

I had wanted to get my navel pierced since I was about 12 years old. Back then my Mum had offered to pay for me to get it done but I was afraid of the pain associated with it so I declined.

By age 18 I decided it was definitely what I wanted. At the time I was dating a guy who didn't find piercings attractive in the least so I didn't get it done. While body modification is important to me, in my eyes he was more important than getting a piercing so I was happy to go without.

He and I broke up recently so I began to seriously think of getting it done. Another factor in the final decision to get it done is that on Monday a gentleman that I've known for years died suddenly. He died of a stroke less than 12 hours after showing his first symptoms. When things such as that happen it really makes you want to do things in the here and now. If you wait too long, you might not be able to try these things.

So, I went to Hairhouse Warehouse yesterday to get my navel pierced. I was nervous, but quite excited. After the worker at the counter informed the piercer that I was there for a navel piercing, the piercer came to talk to me. He said that they had an apprentice at the store, and if I allowed her to pierce me they would give me a 50% discount. I wasn't too comfortable with having a student pierce me, but I fully support the education of people to be excellent piercers and/or tattoo artists and I figured they have to learn on real people, so why not?

The qualified piercer watched as the apprentice piercer worked with me and explained everything involved. I chose a barbell with a lime green coloured gem. My belly was cleaned and marked before I lay down for the procedure. I found the clamp a bit painful and was chatting to both of the piercers to keep my mind off the pain I was about to experience. It was suggested that I close my eyes, but I opted to keep them open in the hope that visual stimulus would further take my mind off the pain.

It was SO PAINFUL! I gave a yelp and gripped my legs with my hands. Both piercers seemed surprised at my reaction and the qualified piercer attempted to get me to relax. It seems that the apprentice piercer briefly stopped the piercing then continued to create the exit wound during my little painful tantrum as I felt another huge pain and did the yelp and tense reaction again. I'm unsure how accurate my timeline of events are of this part as I was a bit scatterbrained. After it was done I was relieved.

After leaving the store, it ached intensely for a couple of hours. I considered returning to the store to see if this was normal. I was certain that it was just the trauma to the body that made it hurt and that it wasn't due to the procedure being done incorrectly. I guess I just have a low pain threshold :)

By that evening I actually had no pain at all. I was told to treat it twice a day but I've found with various ear piercings that I have that if I do it three times a day it heaps a bit faster so I've been doing it that frequently. When cleaning, I first wash my hands with antibacterial soap. I then lather a small amount of the antibacterial soap in my hands and gently smear it on the piercing. I rinse the soap by saturating a tissue with water and patting the soap off, before patting it again with a dry tissue to get rid of the water. After that I spray it with a healing spray. The one I use contains tea tree oil and aloe vera.

I am extremely pleased with the piercing and pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain I am now feeling (especially after the initial pain). Sleeping last night was no problem. I felt no pain at all much to my surprise. I must add though, that this afternoon I had a nap and at one point rolled onto my belly at which point I was woken with a jolt due to a shot of pain in my belly.

I would not hesitate on going back to Hairhouse Warehouse for future piercings :) I'd like to thank both the piercers there for the friendly and professional service they provided. I have already recommended the store to my girlfriends who want to get theirs done. (It's funny, I thought I'd be the only person in their early 20s getting this piercing done as most people I know got it done in their mid teens... my friends are proving me wrong!)

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submitted by: Anonymouson: 22 Feb. 2007in
Navel Piercing

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Artist: +Studio: Hairhouse+WarehouseLocation: Brisbane+Australia

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